Favors
by KateAlexandraH
Summary: Maxine, a rival thief, must learn to put aside her differences and work with the one person she despises, Sly Cooper. During their time together, a dangerous enemy arises who threatens the very life of Maxine herself. As it turns out, the only person who can help her is the one person she least expects. Rated T for language and mild adult situations.
1. Proposal

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any part of the Sly Cooper franchise. Sly Cooper belongs to Sucker Punch/Sanzaru. All original characters are, in fact, mine.

This story takes place after Sly 3. By the way, if you are offended by the fact that Carmelita is not an outstanding citizen in this story, then perhaps this is not for you. Rated M just to be safe.

(If anyone would like to be a Beta please contact me.)

**Favors**

**Chapter 1**

I checked my disguise in the reflective glass of Interpol Headquarters. It was so weird looking at my reflection and not being able to recognize my own face. The person staring back at me was in no way, shape or form the girl I have grown used to. My raven black hair was now a bleached blonde, my light gray fur was a horrifyingly fake orange and to top it off, my usually blue eyes were now green. I could hardly look at the girl in the mirror. I will never understand how men find a fake orange tan to be attractive. But that doesn't matter now; what matters is the success of the mission ahead of me. I smirked at myself before pulling open the door to Hell on Earth, or more commonly known as Interpol Headquarters.

The trick to doing something as dangerous as walking straight into a den full of cops, is to walk with a purpose. One must pretend like they own the place and give no one else the time of day. Lucky for me, all of the male cops seemed too preoccupied with my fake tan to really notice me, and the female cops were preoccupied with the male cops. Everyone wins. I tried to hide a smirk as I marched to office number 642. I stopped in front of the door, took a deep, calming breath, and then knocked. "Come in" Constable Cooper said with that sexy, authoritative voice of his. God, the things that that voice did to a girl. "Why hello" Cooper smiled at me.

I pretended not to notice the fact that he followed his male coworkers' example. I briefly turned away from him, closed the door, and then locked it. "Cut the crap, Cooper. I loathe to admit this, but I need your expertise" He gave me a shocked look in reply. "Oh right, it's me, your favorite criminal" His eyes narrowed as he reached for his shock pistol. "Whoa there, boy. You give me away and I'll tell Miss Carmelita about that kiss we shared at the Louvre, you remember?"

He was suddenly angry, "Are you seriously black mailing me?"

It took an extreme amount of will power to swallow my pride, "If that what it takes to get you to help me, then yes". I reconciled myself with the fact that I was just attempting to reason with him.

He relaxed slightly, well he took his hand off of his shock pistol and leaned forward on his desk, "Alright, Ravenscar, I'm hooked. What's the deal?" Excellent, everything is going as planned.

I beamed at him, "Fantastic. So awhile back I asked for a favor from a few friends of mine" He raised his eyebrow at the word "friends". "Now they want me to do something for them, as retribution of sorts. What they want me to do is to steal a certain something from a certain chief of Interpol. That's right, Barkley. All that I need you for is a distraction. Just keep Barkley's attention long enough for me to get what I need. I'd say about two to three minutes, tops". He didn't reply right away so I prompted him by saying, "So what's it going to be?"

"If I don't, will you tell Carmelita?" I gave him a look that I sincerely hoped said 'really?!' or something of that sorts. "Wow, that's a shocker" and queue eye roll now. "I'll only help you on one condition" Now it was my turn to raise an eyebrow. "If I help you return this favor, then you'll owe me a favor".

He seemed pretty self-satisfied by this so I decided to give him some sass, "I'll tell you what you'll get" he looked at me shocked that I would speak to him that way. "You'll get my silence about the events at the Louvre".

"I don't need your silence. Inspector Fox and I are through. I found her cheating on me" He held up a hand as I was about to speak. "I didn't shoot you because I wanted to hear what you had to say. Well that and you look damn fine. And yes, I'll help you. Just keep in mind that now, you'll owe _me _a favor" Cooper smiled, obviously pretty satisfied with his little speech.

"Yeah, whatever. _I'll _contact _you _whenever I plan out the details. Just expect my call very soon" And with that I walked out of his office with my head held high.

Well, my head was high before I heard that sultry voice of his say, "See you around, beautiful".

**AN: **Sorry it's a little short; just consider this a prologue of sorts. Don't worry if you're confused, everything will be explained in time. Oh by the way, all kinds of reviews are appreciated, though not necessary for the continuation of the story. By the way, I'm pretty serious about that Beta, so please do not hesitate to contact me. Thanks for reading.


	2. Plans

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any part of the Sly Cooper franchise. Sly Cooper belongs to Sucker Punch/Sanzaru. All original characters are, in fact, mine.

This story takes place after Sly 3. By the way, if you are offended by the fact that Carmelita is not an outstanding citizen in this story, then perhaps this is not for you. Rated M just to be safe.

(If anyone would like to be a Beta please contact me.)

**Favors**

**Chapter 2**

It had been two days since I met Cooper in his office at Interpol Headquarters. I had tried to reach him all of yesterday and today and have yet to get ahold of him. I growled in frustration as his voicemail picked up, again. Seriously, what's the point of having a cell phone if you never answer it? That man spins me into a dimension of pissed off the likes of which I have never been before in my life, yet I keep coming back for more. The more I tell myself I hate him, the more attracted to him I become. This is the single conundrum of my life that I will never understand. It seems that the only reason I hate him is because he's in law enforcement (I've always had a little problem with authority), well that and he annoys the living hell out of me. I must admit though, he is unlike any Constable I've ever had the displeasure of running into. For starters, he's helping me steal from his Chief. I shudder as I think of what Cooper will make me do in return for his help. It's got to be something big if he's willing to risk his career.

I pulled up to my apartment and got out of my car. This is going to sound vain, but my car really is my baby. I had to pull off countless jobs to afford her. She's a 2013 blacked-out Camaro. It's absolutely beautiful. I always make sure I lock it when I leave, this time I clicked the lock button on my keys three times, just be safe. The doorman greeted me with a smile as I walked into the lobby. The elevator was _still _broken so I was forced to trudge up five flights of stairs. Don't get me wrong, the apartments were very nice, as clued in by the doorman. Yet another luxury I owed to my criminal life style. As soon as I walked into my apartment I could immediately tell something was very wrong. I saw something glint out of the corner of my eye. I hurriedly dropped my things and turned the lights on. Lo and behold, the ever elusive Cooper was sitting on _my _couch and drinking _my _French wine! The glint must have come from the iconic Cooper family cane leaning against the wall. "What the _hell _do you think you're doing!? And I'll have you know that that is my _expensive _French wine!" I shouted at him.

"Hey, relax" he said "I just thought I drop by and tell you; change in plans" he paused briefly, "Oh and the wine is delicious".

"What do you mean 'change in plans'? And what the hell are you wearing?" I questioned him.

He smiled at me again, "Why don't you sit down, have a glass of wine, and I'll explain everything".

Now I usually hate being told what to do, especially by Cooper, but I saw no other way out of this situation than to comply with his request. I sat down on my white couch while he poured me a glass of _my _wine. "You said you were going to explain, so start" I demanded.

"Oh, Maxine, you know I love it when you get feisty with me" I growled at him until he continued. "In exactly two weeks, I am going to quit my job. I'd quit now, but I don't want to arouse suspicion. Tonight, I'm going to help you break into Barkley's office as soon as he locks up for the night". I raised an eyebrow at him, "That's right; I'm not going to distract him. This plan is easier and more fool proof. What I'm wearing is my old thieving outfit. As you know, I am a master thief".

I rolled my eyes; anything to brag about his accomplishments. "So why quit your job?" I asked, taking a sip of _my_ wine.

He frowned, "I never like being a Constable. And as an added bonus I don't have to look at Carmelita everyday" he said as he turned away from me and stared out the window. He took a deep breath and let it out forcefully. "Why am I even mentioning this to you? It's not like you'll understand anyway" he huffed.

I can't believe I'm about to tell him this. Oh well, whatever snaps him out of his pity party. "Actually, I might understand more than you think", his ear twitched so I knew he was listening to me. "I had this boyfriend, Ivan, who cheated on me. Well five years into our "relationship" I found him fucking some bimbo in his car. I always told myself that it was my fault that he cheated on me. Maybe if I put more effort into my appearance, cleaned or cooked more, or put out more, he would still be with me, want me. But now that I think about it, even if I did _all _of those things, he still would have banged that bitch. You know how I just came to that conclusion?" He shook his head still avoiding my gaze. "Because Carmelita would have to be completely stupid to let a guy like you go" I patted him on the back then said, "Now tell me more about this plan of yours".

He turned back to me and smiled, "Thanks, Max. So we'll sneak into Barkley's office through the window via the fire escape. He always keeps his window slightly open when he leaves, something about airing out his office. I'll help you break into the safe, assuming, of course, that you need one of the files. We get what you need, then haul-ass out of there".

"That's actually not a bad plan, and yes, you assumed correctly". We smirked at each other then I said, "I'm going to go get ready".

"I'll be here" Sly said after me.

**AN: **So this chapter is a bit longer than the previous one, but not as long as I would like. I hope some things are a little clearer. Remember the events mentioned at the Louvre in the last chapter? I might actually post that, because I already have it written out and I think it will add more depth to the story. All kinds of reviews are appreciated, though not necessary for the continuation of the story. By the way, I'm pretty serious about that Beta, so please do not hesitate to contact me. Thanks for reading.


	3. The Heist

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any part of the Sly Cooper franchise. Sly Cooper belongs to Sucker Punch/Sanzaru. All original characters are, in fact, mine.

This story takes place after Sly 3. By the way, if you are offended by the fact that Carmelita is not an outstanding citizen in this story, then perhaps this is not for you. Rated M just to be safe.

(If anyone would like to be a Beta please contact me.)

**Favors**

**Chapter 3**

I sighed as I walked into my room, shut the door (I didn't bother locking it because that wouldn't stop Cooper from barging in) and walked to my closet. This might sound a little superficial, but my closet is my favorite part of my apartment. It's a luxury walk-in-closet. The closet included everything from my pajamas to my most expensive clothes. Above all of this, however, is the one entire wall dedicated to my shoe collection. It's less of a collection and more of an obsession, honestly. I walked to the very back of my closet, moved the clothes aside and opened the hidden compartment that contained my thieving outfit. A girl can never be too cautious. I slipped it on and turned to look at myself in the mirror. My outfit isn't very creative. It's all black and uncomfortably tight. Loose clothes equals a bad time, you learned that the hard way. I had my family dagger strapped to my leg for self-defense. I sighed again as I walked out to meet Cooper.

He looked up as I walked back into my living room. I pretended not to notice the way his eyes seemed to devour my body. "So what's step one?" I asked him.

He definitely knew I was pretending because he took his sweet-ass time trailing his eyes up my body and to my eyes as he said, "Well first, we wait until Barkley leaves. Second, we break into Interpol through Barkley's window, steal the files, and finally we haul-ass out of there" he pause and then smirked, "Nice outfit, by the way. I approve".

"Shut your mouth and let's get moving" I growled at him. I then marched to the door and waited _patiently _for him to get his shit together so we could get a move on. I watched his every move as he grabbed his mask and cane, trying to convey my annoyance with him with a look. "Could you hurry up?" I asked him. Ok, more like yelled at him, but in my defense, I hate when guys look at me like I'm a piece of meat.

Finally, Cooper made it to the door and opened it for me. We walked down the stairs together to the door in comfortable silence. Right before we hit the doors Cooper grabbed my arm roughly and said, "Wait, we should go out the back, we're not dressed very inconspicuously".

Good point. I sighed as I started walking to the back of the building. "Good thinking" I said to him.

We walked out the back and into a dark alleyway. This alley is an exact replica of every other alley in Paris; wet, smelly and downright disgusting. Cooper turned to me and smirked, "Alright, before I risk my ass for you, I want to make sure you're worth it". I raised my eyebrows at him in reply, "Catch me if you can" he said before dashing off.

I let out a loud groan, "but mom…" then I grit my teeth and set off after him.

When Cooper does his little thieving tricks, he has the obnoxious habit of making it look easy. It's not. This lesson is not something that is easily learned. As I tripped through the streets with my eyes on the rooftops, I realized that I was not in the best of shape for this kind of exercise.

It felt like hours before I finally caught up with Cooper. He was smugly leaning against the side of a building in, you guessed it, an alleyway before I caught up to him. I doubled over, trying in vain to catch my breath when I heard Cooper chuckle. I lifted my head to glare up at him, but he was nowhere to be found. I groaned as I straightened up and turned around only to run right into Cooper's chest. He wrapped his arms around me to prevent me from falling. I looked into his tawny eyes that were lit up by the dim and flickering lamp in the alley. Maybe I should reconsider about him; he wasn't so bad. "Close your mouth, sweetheart. You're drooling". Never mind.

I pulled away from him and rolled my eyes, "So, where are we?" I asked him as he lead the way out of the alley.

He turned his head back at me as he said, "We're about two miles from Interpol. By the way, if we start working together permanently, than I'm going to have to start properly training you. There's no way in hell I'm getting caught because of you" he said quite obnoxiously.

I stopped walking, "Now hold up a minute". He stopped walking and turned to me, "What makes you think that I want to work with you _permanently_?" If you couldn't tell, I was a _little _angry that he just _assumed _that I wanted to join the notorious Cooper gang. I quite like working alone.

He continued walking and I had to follow him, considering I had no idea where we were. "Oh I'm just going on the fact that you were practically drooling over me a second ago".

By now I was just appalled, "Excuse me, I was not drooling, I was just shocked".

"Uh huh, sure".

"I was!"

"I'm not denying it. It's a possibility. An unlikely one, but a possibility" he said.

"See, now you're just annoying me" I glared at him.

"Alright, so I lead you far enough away from Interpol so you can catch a break before the heist. I need you in tip top shape, because we don't want to get caught" he informed me.

"Aye aye, Captain".

We walked in silence for a little while. Strangely, I was ok with this silence, it was comfortable. Until, of course, Cooper had to ruin it, "Look, I don't want to make you uncomfortable, but I have no one else to talk to about this. Bentley and Murray have never gone through something like this, and you have. I know I act like everything's ok, but her cheating on me really hurt" he finished his sentence in a whisper.

I chanced a look at him. He was staring straight ahead. His handsome face was perfectly under control to not give away and emotion. "Of course it hurts. It's going to hurt for a while. The only cure I know of is time and friends. Even though you think they won't understand, everyone goes through sadness and heartache, which is what you're going through right now. My point is that you should open up to your friends. You need support and your friends can provide that. You never know, they could offer some comfort and pretty sound advice" I smiled at him.

At this point, I just wanted to see the happy-go-lucky raccoon again. Seeing him upset made me upset. He looked at me then. The moonlight had the effect of making everything seem a little washed out. However, the moonlight seemed to have no effect on his bright, tawny eyes. "Thank you", the weight of those words hit me full force and left me a little breathless. There's a difference in saying "thank you" out of habit, when someone holds the door for you or gives you a pen. The words have lost their meaning due to the fact that they are said so often. What was different this time around was that those words were said with almost too much meaning behind them. I got the impression that Sly meant that he was thankful for not only my advice, but something else as well.

Suddenly I was uncomfortable, "No problem" I shrugged. Stupid, the man just opened up to me and here I was shrugging it off as if it was nothing. Way to go, Maxine.

All too soon, we were in front of Interpol Headquarters. Cooper turned to me and said, "Show time. Follow me to the fire escape".

I nodded. We walked around the back of the building when suddenly a thought popped into my head, "Wait" he looked at me. "What about the security cameras?"

He smiled, "Oh don't worry about that. I had a friend of mine put them in a loop. No one will know that we were here until it's too late. Ok I'll give you a boost, and then you lift me up".

Once again, I nodded. Cooper then proceeded to lift me to the fire escape. Once I was up, I turned around and reached down to pull Cooper up. Let's just say that he's a lot heavier than he looks, "Jesus, Cooper, how much do you weigh?"

"Shut and keep puling" After a tremendous effort on my part, Cooper was finally able to pull the rest of himself up. "Ok, now we'll sneak up to the Chief's window. _Please _remember to be quiet!"

"Your total faith and confidence in me is astounding. Let's get moving" I replied.

One would think that sneaking on a fire escape would be easy, well I've got news for you; it's not. The fire escape was super creaky. Due to this, we had to move very slowly and carefully. Eventually, we made it to the window and true to Cooper's word, the window was slightly open. Cooper slid the window all the way open and we climbed inside. To my surprise, Cooper knew exactly where the safe was. I didn't ask how he knew because I figured he had been in here for a similar reason before. He walked over to it. I watched him intently, trying to figure out how he did it. The only thing I learned from watching him is that one must crack a safe very slowly and carefully. After about five minutes, the safe was open.

I sat next to him and began looking for the file. The particular file I was looking for was a file on Axel Apaccio. Apaccio was an infamous Italian mob leader. At the time, he was one of the most powerful criminal in the world.

"Ok, I got it. Let's go" I said to Cooper.

Just then we heard the lock on the door start to jiggle. Cooper hurriedly hid in Barkley's closet. For the record, I thought that was the most obvious and cliché hiding spots in the world, but whatever. Who entered was honestly the last person I expected to enter.

She looked at me in surprise and her shock pistol wavered, "Maxine?"

Ok, play it cool. I smirked at her, "Inspector Fox".

**AN: **For once I'm actually satisfied with the length of this chapter, since it's significantly longer than the last two. Let me know if there's anything you're confused on and I'll try to elaborate. I'm still debating posting that other story I mentioned so let me know if you want to read it. All kinds of reviews are appreciated, though not necessary for the continuation of the story. By the way, I'm pretty serious about that Beta, so please do not hesitate to contact me. Thanks for reading! Please review!


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